KOLKATA: The telecom department has asked the Department of Northeastern Region (DoNER) to reimburse satellite bandwidth charges paid by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd to Antrix Corp for maintaining telecom coverage in the Northeast during the 12th Plan, according to an internal note seen by ET.

The telecom department (DoT) believes such reimbursement is justified "due to high satellite bandwidth charges" and the comparatively higher cost of service provisioning in the Northeast using satellites, which triggers "losses for BSNL", the note shows.

Accordingly, it wants DoNER to fully compensate BSNL for charges paid to Antrix to ensure "viability of service provisioning in the Northeast. The proposed reimbursements for the 12th Plan will be effective from 2013-14 onwards. In 2013-14, BSNL paid Rs 46.84 crore to Antrix towards satellite bandwidth charges.

The latest developments come at a time when the Department of Space (DoS) is likely to waive such charges payable by BSNL to sustain the loss-making telco's operations in the Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshwadweep archipelagos.

In a recent consultation paper on the state of telecoms infrastructure in the Northeast, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had also noted that satellite bandwidth charges are high, since demand outstrips current capacity on Indian satellites.

It had, in fact, suggested that 75% of the annual satellite bandwidth charges be subsidised by the Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF) — an independent arm of the DoT — since Antrix Corp may face challenges in reducing levies as it has to pay for hiring transponders from foreign satellites.

DoT has advocated DoNER compensation for BSNL given the dependence on satellite systems for continued telecom coverage in a region of strategic importance, especially in the remote border districts.